Mea is correct. The top of the curl reflects the most light, therefore both the inner section of the petal and the tip of the petal will be the darkest of the colour. The center of the petal will be the lightest. Look at anything round, such as a pencil, and the lightest part is at the top of the rounding. Hope this helps.

Thank you EmmaLee, I'm still experimenting with these Pan Pastels. They work quite well on coloured backgrounds as long as the paper colour is close to the subject colour like the orangey colour I used for the tiger, and the grey/blue paper I used on the surfer and cat.

I think for most paintings it will have to be white and paint in the dark background around the subject. I think I'll be looking into the soft stick pastels, there seems to be a lot less issue with those. The sticks may be a bit messier, but when I tried some in an art shop I found they were easier to use. The pans may create less dust, but it is extremely fine like talc. Just the slightest hint of air movement gets it in the air. Even with my glasses I find my eyes feel very dry and gritty. Going on the hunt for some safety glasses that will fit over my specs.

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Cheers, Val

”Creativity is allowing yourselves to make mistakes. Work on knowing which ones to keep!”

Ta much Gita, I'm hoping it will be a successful venture. It has become a bit of a toss up between w/c and pastel. Love them both... as much as my pencils... and my ink bottle... oh, and my scratchboards... my short dabble with acrylics was fun........

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Cheers, Val

”Creativity is allowing yourselves to make mistakes. Work on knowing which ones to keep!”

Oh I love that you are venturing into pastels Val! I've seen the pans mostly used for backgrounds, skies and some landscapes. It's fun then to finish off with strokes of sticks. Look at eBay for those if you can have them shipped

Thanks Lynn. Sadly shipping costs to here are prohibitive. Often more than the item being sent.

The only way to ensure a package arrives is by courier. We had to have a new bank card sent down... cost Cdn$185.00!!! Art supplies are a moot issue. I just have to go with whatever I can find. The one thing in my favour is.... I can be very resourceful when inspired!

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Cheers, Val

”Creativity is allowing yourselves to make mistakes. Work on knowing which ones to keep!”

Also a few others for technique ideas. Not pans, have only found a few of those so far. If I can get hold of some good quality sticks I'll use the pans more for background. Also need to find more pastel pencils!

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Cheers, Val

”Creativity is allowing yourselves to make mistakes. Work on knowing which ones to keep!”